MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) Coverage Initiated at Raymond James

Stock analysts at Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $2,350.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.82% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,175.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of MercadoLibre from $2,000.00 to $2,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Dbs Bank upgraded MercadoLibre from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on MercadoLibre from $2,025.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $2,530.00 price objective on shares of MercadoLibre in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,217.50.

MercadoLibre Price Performance

MELI opened at $2,064.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $104.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.61. MercadoLibre has a 12 month low of $1,141.04 and a 12 month high of $2,161.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,941.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,710.31.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $10.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $1.95. MercadoLibre had a return on equity of 43.52% and a net margin of 8.03%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MercadoLibre will post 35.79 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MercadoLibre

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MELI. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in MercadoLibre by 4.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 34,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in MercadoLibre by 20.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,658 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its position in MercadoLibre by 33.4% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 4,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,499,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in MercadoLibre by 143.7% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of MercadoLibre by 168.5% in the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 45,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,622,000 after buying an additional 28,494 shares during the last quarter. 87.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MercadoLibre Company Profile

MercadoLibre, Inc operates online commerce platforms in the United States. It operates Mercado Libre Marketplace, an automated online commerce platform that enables businesses, merchants, and individuals to list merchandise and conduct sales and purchases digitally; and Mercado Pago FinTech platform, a financial technology solution platform, which facilitates transactions on and off its marketplaces by providing a mechanism that allows its users to send and receive payments online, as well as allows users to transfer money through their websites or on the apps.